It seems like nothing but COVID-19 is in the news today. At the top of every newscast we get another update and, more often than not, at least half of the news segment features more coronavirus developments.
Finally, the World Health Organization has declared it’s a pandemic.
The WHO also says it’s seeing “alarming levels of inaction.” The question now is whether Canada will end up in the same situation as Italy — in a complete nationwide lockdown. Only time will tell.
As someone with a compromised immune system, the COVID-19 outbreak is of particular concern to me, as it is to the elderly. So hats off to our Health Minister, Adrian Dix, for showing real leadership, and to our tireless provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, who is determined to break this thing.
To date, BC has conducted more COVID-19 tests than the entire United States of America!
Thankfully, we also have very, very few community cases of transmission. Still, health officials are urging us to “flatten the curve” and contain the spread as much as we can.
Personally, I live every day constantly aware of the importance of good infection control. My caregivers and I know how important it is to keep “barriers” by not touching one thing and then touching something else. My caregivers have always washed their hands at the beginning of their shifts, and they’ve always used hand sanitizer when they can’t wash.
As for me, I can’t shake hands at the best of times, even if I wanted to!
We Canadians are friendly folks — we love being connected! But now’s the time to do what I’ve been doing all my life: Practise distancing, from me, from everyone. Keep those barriers I just mentioned. Avoid shaking hands. Wash your hands really often and really well. Don’t touch your face. If you’re sick, stay home.
It might feel a little different to acquire these new habits, but from personal experience I can promise you it’s totally doable. And for now, it’s what we have to do to watch out for each other — which, after all, is a very caring thing to do.
I also promise you, you can keep yourself and others safe using these good health practices and still maintain a wonderful sense of community. Just ask any of the many friends and colleagues I’ve had the great pleasure of knowing and staying connected with over the decades.
You’ll find more excellent tips on containing the coronavirus and news about it through the BC Centre for Disease Control.
Daily atmospheric CO2 [Courtesy of CO2.Earth]
Latest daily total (Mar. 12, 2020): 414.11 ppm
One year ago (Mar. 12, 2019): 412.14 ppm
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